


Marketplace Shenanigans

by mementomoe



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Flirting, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Series, Shit they're hot, meet cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-06 02:38:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16823464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mementomoe/pseuds/mementomoe
Summary: I adored your prompt for this, and hope you have a happy new year.





	Marketplace Shenanigans

**Author's Note:**

  * For [enjambament](https://archiveofourown.org/users/enjambament/gifts).



Runaan is a good assassin. Not only is there the usual part about ending lives, but there is also both sides of hiding. He’s been known to be hard to find as far from a full moon as either quarter in his training. He knows how to blend into his surroundings even without the camouflage the new moon gives him.

He’s also quite good at finding his quarry. True, most of the time, none even know they’re coming, but some have somehow gotten word, and choose to make it a game of prey and predator. He can follow any hints into the deepest fortress, slip past false walls and sudden drops or climbs with little help.

And yet he cannot find his five-year-old charge. Rayla may be the daughter of two Dragonguards, but she clearly has the makings of an assassin. No wonder he was the one chosen to be her guardian.

The marketplace is crowded for the local festival. He sees all sorts of wares for sale. A few rare foods that Cloudgazer Elves have brought quick but otherwise, all sorts of crafts, what kind of child can go off like this?

“Rayla?” he says. While he raises his voice, it’s just to be heard over the crowd nearby. “Rayla, where’d you go?”

The problem with her is that in a crowd, it’s easy to stand out if tall, but a five year old can get lost with only a few people.

Food. Maybe she smelled something interesting. But what would that be? Some Sunfire spice soup? Or maybe just some baked sweets from nearby. He tries to smell around. What can there be there. She ate this morning, though. How could she want some now in the middle of the day?

Runaan has hardly been her guardian and already she disappears. A market seemed like a great way to get to know the girl, but now she’s gone.

He calls out her name again as he presses through the crowd. He projects louder. “It’s Runaan. Where’d you go?”

“Looking for your daughter, are you?” an elf asks. He’s of equal height to Runaan. Broader shoulders from what he can tell. Another Moonshadow elf. He stands by a table with several sunfire blades carefully placed to show off the forge glow they’re known for. He holds a small knife in wonder. “I thought I saw someone duck out from under a the next stall over a few minutes ago.”

“She— she’s no—” Runaan stops. It doesn’t matter his relation to her just now.

He clears his throat and tries to hold back any stammer. “Thank you. Do you know which way she went. Is there something that she would, um, find interesting?”

The elf sets aside the knife. “I can think of a few treats over there a child would love. Might you need another set of hands?” The elf turns to the Sunfire elf. In front of it “I must ask you more questions about these later.” The elf has an easy smile on his face. He leans in to the merchant and keeps his head level.

It seems he’s already decided what Runaan needs without waiting for an answer.

“The food stalls are a few rows over. At least the ones that I suppose kids would like.” He stretches his hand as he talks. “And she seemed to go that way.”

It is the idea he thinks makes the most sense. Rayla seems to be extraordinary in some skills. Especially if she managed to sneak away without him noticing.

“When’d you last feed her?”

“After we woke up. Shortly after sunrise.”

The elf’s lips narrow for a second. “And you’ve gone this long without another meal? No wonder she went on her own.”

He looks at the sky. The sun is quite high.

“More.”

He turns to the elf. “I’m sorry, more what?”

He puts his hand across his chest and gives a small bow. “I was offering my name. Muir. I’m the local smith. You and your daughter must be new to this area. What is your name? I believe you called your daughter Raya?”

He starts to move across. “Rayla. Her name is Rayla. And mine is Runaan.”

Muir takes his hand. Runaan looks to him and fights his training.

“This way should be faster, Runaan.” He points to the other end. “Fewer people.”

Runaan debates pulling his hand away, but Muir’s hand has a rough texture to them. Well, they should. He’s a smith. But he likes the texture. Like the leather on his bow’s grip when it was freshly tanned.

Muir lets go and clears his throat. “As I said, this way,”

Runaan doesn’t wait for him to lead the way to the edge of the row of stalls. He may not know exactly where the food is. This town is not what he’s used to when it comes to living, but it should be better to help care for a young girl than in the barracks half a day away.

As he reaches the edge of the square, he looks over and sees Muir has run ahead. “This way. I see some other children by the Sunfire spices.”

Runaan’s eyes dart over, and immediately, he can see Rayla on the edge. She jumps to try and look over some boy who’s taller, and likely older. Her hair bounces with her.

“Rayla, there you are,” he says. Maybe he didn’t need Muir’s help, after all.

She turns around. As he walks over, she looks between him and Muir. She smiles, turns around, and runs from him.

He calls out her name and gives chase.

He can hear Muir follow him as he calls out her name again. “I said you needed to stay with me. What would your parents say if I lost you?”

He almost gets within arm’s length at the edge of the stalls, but she makes a quick turn towards some people with a draught lizard tied to a cart full of local vegetables. She ducks under the legs, and he can hear her laugh. He can’t follow her, and jumps over the creature.

As soon as his hand reaches its back, it calls out and starts to move forward.

The farmer tugs on the reins and Runaan feels them cut into his arms. He loses his grip as his body flips over the tight leather and he falls to the cobblestone pathway. His hands are used to the occasional scrape, yet something about this not being one of the times he takes his oath makes the pain cut deeper.

The other elf, Muir, runs around and offers his hand to him. “Are you well? I— that was a good vault. Shame everything happened.”

Runaan takes his hand as he pushes himself up. His cheeks heat up at the compliment, but he still needs to get his charge 

“Ah, thank you,” he says. “It’s part of my duties. But did you see her go somewhere?” His eyes dart around.

Muir shakes his head. “You and the lizard blocked my view.”

Great, they were back to the beginning. Rayla could be anywhere, and she thinks it’s just a game to run from him.

He needed to make sure her parents chose the right guardian. If this gets out, she’ll have someone else.

At least he has the energy to chase after her. Not all could say that.

Now, if he wanted to hide from his guardian when he was a child, would he go back to where he was before? The food stalls seemed to have a soft spot for children.

In all honesty, he would find another place after this if he wanted to play a game of hiding with them.

Now, there was another question.

“Is there anything else here kids would like?” he asks Muir. “First time at this market in years, and I don’t remember who comes for the young ones.”

Muir looks him in they eye. The pupils fill his pink irises. “I know there are a few performers that like to come. I do not know if they came today, or where they would be. An illusionist often comes, and I know there’s a sunfire knife juggler. A Stargazer has danced here a few times, but I do not know if that would attract a child.”

Illusions were a specialty of moonshadow elves like him and Muir. One would be far more likely to make it than a juggler or dancer. It would be best to look for one of those before they looked for another.

It just makes another question. Where might an illusionist set up to catch attention, and would Rayla know where one was?

If so, they would need only find the illusionist. If not, it would require he ask another for a favor from a stranger.

At least this first stranger seems nice. Muir. A smith. That is someone he should make the further acquaintance of. But an illusionist? Well, they have some skills that might be useful, but not up close.

He tries to focus his eyes away from the elf, instead scanning the area for anything that should not be the case at a marketplace. Whether that is mischief or an illusion doesn’t matter, just out of the ordinary.

“She doesn’t generally set up over there,” Muir says. “She’s this way.”

He knows the place quite well. This time, no hand goes on him. Runaan turns to follow Muir this time. His eyes follow the line of the elf’s back in his clothes. There is a strength to his body. Not the kind Runaan is used to, though.

Runaan tears his eyes away to return to searching for Rayla. This isn’t the time to look for a lover. It isn’t appropriate either. He’s raising a child. If he had one before, it would be one thing, but this could disrupt some pattern of his. He’s not sure which one, but there is one nonetheless.

Nothing seems out of the ordinary to him. No children trying to avoid their guardians, and everyone looks like they belong here. Know what they look for, whether goods or entertainment.

When they reach the spot Muir insists this illusionist take, there is no one there. Oh, there are signs they once were, but it is not some illusion of invisibility. They must have left for the day.

“Sorry, guess they got what they needed,” Muir says. “Surprised she’s gone so soon.”

“Get back here!” a woman calls out. Runaan’s head turns, and he sees a woman in a long robe followed by a few bystanders. She runs from them, and he gives chase. Rayla must have done something.

Despite the crowds, he meets the group within a quarter minute. By the time he gets there, the woman kneels as she tries to pick up what looks like a batch of exotic flowers.

“Was there a young child here?” He asks. “Short white hair, violet eyes?”

She nods her head as the flowers turn to shards of glass and metal.

He reaches for his purse. “I can pay for that. Sorry, my charge got away from me a while ago.”

“She came about a minute before you arrived. I was continuing a show, and I asked her to hold my charm. I’ve found a way to make quite convincing illusions. And crush this vessel to turn it into a shower of flowers. While they look the part, they won’t cut those around me. You needn’t pay for anything. I know where I can ask for another vessel, and I need not give much to get several of them.”

He tried to understand everything. “And she ran?”

“Yes, I know not if she saw you, but she crushed the vessel earlier than needed at the same time. I worry she thinks she’s in trouble for messing up the timing.”

That was something that he thought would be expensive, even if she casts the illusions herself. Especially if it is tactile as well. He will have to remember her in the future.

Something bright catches his eye in the corner of the market. Runaan turns his head and at first, can only see lights bouncing around. Five. Maybe six. He can’t count it at first. When he tries again, he sees a girl heading her way there.

Rayla.

He doesn’t miss her this time. He doesn’t start off at a run. That might just let her know where he was. She will stop and watch those lights. It must be a set of Sunfire blades, or perhaps just something else on fire.

At first, he figures she’ll simply stop and watch. He could just walk up behind her, and put his hand on her. A bit of chiding, but after that, he’d get her some food, and walk with her, making sure he keeps his hand on hers.

Instead, she gets close. He can hear the juggler speak up. “Ah, young one, do you wish to juggle?”

Rayla doesn’t say anything, but he knows she nods.

“Well, it is quite good. I need a volunteer for my next trick.”

The juggler slows down and catches each of his knives. He can see it clear now. Six knives glowing as bright as they did on the forge, all in one hand.

Runaan should trust the juggler, part of him thinks. At the same time, he’s hardly been with Rayla a moon, and wants to continue to prove he has her safety in mind. He bolts into a sprint. He brushes his hand on the ground as he runs, keeping his stance as low as he can. With a quick jump, he gets his hand on Rayla and barely stops in time.

“Forgive me sir,” he says. “I’m her guardian, and I do not feel she is ready to volunteer. We will be quite willing to watch, however.”

Runaan hugs Rayla close and smiles despite his fear. “Don’t you dare do that again.”

She looks at him with a grin on her face. “Why? Don’t you want me to practice being hard to catch?”

That’s a question he shouldn’t answer publicly. She seems to take his silence as he tries to word things right as a yes. He can see her purple eyes sparkle in the sun that way.

“I’ll need a word to tell you when you’ve practiced enough. Don’t disappear on me. Not in a place like this. You could have gotten hurt.”

She pouts. “But Runaan, what’s the point then? Don’t you get in danger all the time? That’s what Mama and Papa said!”

There’s only so much he can say to her now.

“Danger?” Muir asks. “And I thought she was your daughter?”

Runaan looks away. “I didn’t exactly mean to mislead in that. I am her guardian. Her parents are Dragon Guards. I’m a friend of theirs, so they let me watch over her. And train her. It has been some time since I’ve been in a city I plan to return to openly.”

That should be enough.

Muir relaxes. “Ah, so you are one of those who enforce the border against the human lands, taking care of those who offend the dragons. I always wanted to meet one. You seem, um…”

Well, at least there was one understanding ear in this town. Then again, he’s a smith. Certainly he knows the truths. “Well, my job right now is to watch my friends’ daughter, and train her. I doubt I’ll have a full mission to the human lands for some time.”

Muir nods his head. “Welcome, then. If you want dinner, I bought some of those spices that you liked,” Muir says. He smiles in a knowing way. “Er, before I met you, Runaan. I admit I’m better at using heat to make swords and accessories, but I can make some nice stews as well.”

Rayla beams. “Spice! I liked the spiced bread. Those are the same, right?”

Muir nods his head.

She looks to Runaan, her eyes bright. “Please Runaan! I would love to have some nice stew!”

Runaan doesn’t know what to say. Muir was a good partner for him today, and it would be nice. “Maybe tomorrow.” He looks to him. “I would hate to impose so soon.”

“Tomorrow is just fine,” Muir says. “I rarely have visitors, but know you wouldn’t impose. Consider it a gift to welcome you to the town. Or let you know your interest is returned.”

Runaan steps back. “I don’t believe I said anything of the sort. What might give you the thought that I—”

Muir takes his hand.

This time, Runaan doesn’t have his instincts to fight back. “Your face is easy to read. Today was the most excitement I’ve had in some time. I hope for more excitement in the future, if more planned.”

Well, he always thought he could bluff an enemy, but it seems when he’s at ease, he doesn’t default to the stonelike exterior.

Rayla looks between them and squeals. “You’re smiling. Keep doing it, please.”

“Yes then,” Runaan says. “To both welcome and um… mutual interest. I would like to get to know you. If you want to, I have a nice weapon that I think you would like to study.”

Muir’s eyes light up. “I’ve only heard of the weapons you used from my old master. I would love to see the skill it takes for a modular assassin’s weapon in person. Tomorrow then?”

“Tomorrow.”

Runaan doesn’t lose his smile until well after he and Rayla return home. It was quite a day, with two kinds of excitement.

He couldn’t wait to speak with Muir again.

**Author's Note:**

> I adored your prompt for this, and hope you have a happy new year.


End file.
